Montabi — Complete Strategy Guide & Deep Dive

Overview

Montabi is a creature-collector roguelike deckbuilder that mashes monster taming with tactical card combat on a 3×3 grid. Developed by Indonesian studio Mankibo and published by Akupara Games, it launches August 6, 2026 on PC (Steam, Epic), Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Switch 2.

You play as a trainer whose Montabi companion gets kidnapped by the X Gang. The cops aren't helping, so you venture into branching paths — battling, taming, and evolving creatures to build a team strong enough to take back what's yours. Over 60 Montabi exist, with 22 starters each sporting unique evolution lines. Every run shakes up the three starter options you're given, forcing you to adapt rather than rely on a favorite pick.

The difficulty sits squarely in the "forgiving but punishing" zone. Early fights teach the basics, but by the first boss, the game expects you to understand AP management, positioning, and deck thinning. Runs last roughly 45–90 minutes depending on how deep you go.

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Getting Started — First 30 Minutes

Pick Your Trainer

The game starts with a trainer selection screen. Each trainer has a unique passive ability and a starting deck that shapes your early game. Key trainers spotted in the demo:

Raze — Aggressive playstyle. His starting deck leans into direct damage and enemy repositioning. Passive grants bonus damage against enemies below 50% HP.

Vex — Balanced toolkit with support cards. Passive gives a chance to draw an extra card at the start of each turn.

Luna — Defensive specialist. Starts with healing and shield cards. Passive reduces all incoming damage by 1.

Your choice matters less than how you build around it, but first-timers should pick Vex for flexibility until you understand the flow.

Choose Your Starter Montabi

Each run presents three random starters from the 22+ pool. You can't rely on the same creature every run — that's the roguelike element. The starters fall into rough categories:

Tonkey is a standout starter for beginners. Its movement-based damage lets you reposition and fight simultaneously — solving the grid mobility problem that new players struggle with.

Understand the 3×3 Grid

Your team occupies a 3×3 grid. The enemy team occupies a matching 3×3 grid opposite you. Your trainer sits in the middle back row by default. Montabi fill the other slots.

Position matters because:

• Attacks have range — some hit adjacent tiles, others reach the back row
• Your trainer dies = run ends. Protect the back row
• Montabi in front take more aggro
• Certain cards only target specific rows or columns

Movement isn't free — it comes from cards. If you don't draw movement cards, you're stuck where you are. This is the single biggest newbie trap.

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Core Mechanics — Under the Hood

Action Points (AP)

Each team member starts each turn with a pool of AP. Cards cost AP to play. Unspent AP carries over to the next turn (up to a cap).

The AP economy breaks down like this:

• Base AP per turn: ~4 per character
• Card costs: 1–3 AP
• Movement cards: 1 AP (usually)
• Strong attacks: 2–3 AP
• Ultimate/evolution abilities: 3+ AP

Golden rule: Spreading AP across your team beats dumping all AP into one Montabi. A trainer who spends all his AP attacking leaves himself unable to move or defend.

Card Draw

Every turn, each team member draws 4 cards. You play from that hand, then discard at end of turn. Cards don't carry over between turns — use them or lose them.

This means:

• Card advantage is temporary. You can't hoard
• Draw manipulation (extra draw, card selection) is extremely powerful
• A thin deck means you see your best cards more often

The 3×3 Battle Grid

Your trainer always starts in the center back row — the safest position. The challenge is keeping it there. Some enemies have reach attacks or repositioning cards that pull your trainer forward.

Montabi Biscuits & Taming

After a battle, if you have a Montabi Biscuit in your inventory and the defeated enemy is tamable (most basic enemies are), you can recruit it. The biscuit is consumed on use.

Tamed Montabi join your team at a level relative to their strength when caught. They come with whatever cards they had as enemies.

Strategic note: Don't biscuit everything. Save biscuits for:

• Montabi that fill a gap in your team's role coverage
• Higher-level creatures near your current progression
• Rare elemental types you haven't collected

Evolution

Each Montabi evolves at level 5 (first evolution). A second evolution exists but wasn't reachable in the demo. Evolution triggers automatically when the level requirement is met.

On evolution:

• Stats improve significantly
• New cards are added to the deck
• The Montabi's appearance changes
• Some passive abilities upgrade

Your Tonkey at level 5 becomes a wheeled terror (intermediate form). The final form remains unconfirmed, but based on the evolution tree structure, expect it around level 10–12.

Stickards

Stickards are sticker-like modifiers you place on individual cards in your deck. They alter how the card works — adding bonus effects, changing damage types, or reducing AP cost.

Where to find them: Purchased at shop nodes, earned from elite battles, found at event nodes.

Best use cases:

• Put a damage-boosting Stickard on your trainer's best attack card
• Put an AP-reduction Stickard on expensive-but-powerful Montabi cards
• Save synergy Stickards for key combo pieces

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Progression Strategy

Leveling Priority

After each battle, you distribute experience points to your trainer and Montabi. Click a character to grant XP.

Priority order:

1. Your starter Montabi — get it to level 5 (first evolution) ASAP
2. Your trainer — each level gives new cards and stat bumps
3. Second Montabi — build the bench
4. Third Montabi — only if you have the XP to spare

The first evolution is the biggest power spike in the early game. Rush it.

Deck Building — Card Selection

Every time a character levels up, you pick 1 of 3 new cards to add to their deck. This is where runs are won or lost.

Card selection priority:

• Movement cards > everything else (you cannot win if you cannot reposition)
• Multi-target attacks > single-target (enemy teams usually outnumber you)
• AP-positive cards (cards that grant bonus AP) are premium
• Remove basic attack cards from your deck when offered card removal

What to Buy at Shops

Path Selection on the Map

Standard roguelike branching. The route matters:

• Battle nodes — necessary for XP and card rewards
• Elite nodes — harder fights but better rewards. Marked on map.
• Shop nodes — visit before bosses
• Rest nodes — heal or upgrade cards. Don't skip even at full HP (card upgrade is worth it)
• Event nodes — narrative choices. Some give powerful Charms or Stickards
• Boss nodes — end-of-act. You know they're coming. Prepare.

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Builds & Tier Lists

Elemental Type Rankings

Based on available information from cheat sheets, reviews, and demo gameplay:

Top Starter Picks

1. Tonkey — Mobility + damage combo solves the grid problem. Reliable from turn 1.
2. Washette — Sustain queen. Wash away enemy debuffs and outlast anything.
3. Goldie — Team buffer. Scales into late game better than most.
4. Hydo — Jack of all trades. Safe pick for any run.

Build Archetypes

Aggro Rush (best with Raze trainer)

• Core: Tonkey or fire-type starter
• Strategy: Stack direct damage cards, ignore defense
• Key cards: Multi-hit attacks, movement that damages, AP-positive cards
• Risk: Falls apart if you can't kill fast enough

Control Stall (best with Luna trainer)

• Core: Washette or water-type starter
• Strategy: Heal, debuff, outlast. Win through attrition
• Key cards: Shields, heals, debuff removal, enemy repositioning
• Key Stickards: AP reduction on heal cards

Synergy Stack (best with Vex trainer)

• Core: Goldie or light-type starter
• Strategy: Build card combos that trigger bonus effects
• Key cards: "Combo" type cards (trigger again for each other combo card played)
• Key Stickards: Damage boost on synergistic pairs

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Step-by-Step Strategy

Sequence 1: The Perfect First Turn

1. Check your hand. How many movement cards do you have? If zero, your trainer stays put.
2. Play movement cards first. Redistribute your Montabi on the grid. Front row for tanks, back row for squishy damage dealers.
3. Identify the biggest threat. Which enemy is closest to your back row? That's target priority #1.
4. Spend AP efficiently. Use 2–3 AP per character, don't dump all on one.
5. Reserve 1 AP. Always keep 1 AP for a movement card if the enemy repositions.

Sequence 2: Mid-Battle Adjustments

1. Read enemy intent. Enemies roughly telegraph their next action. Use this to predict and react.
2. If an enemy is targeting your trainer, move the trainer or put a Montabi in the path.
3. Save burst cards for when an enemy is below 30% HP. Overkill is wasteful.
4. Check your Stickard procs. If you have combo Stickards, sequence your card plays to maximize triggers.

Sequence 3: Boss Preparation

1. Two nodes before the boss, prioritize shops and rest nodes.
2. Buy at least 2 Montabi Biscuits — bosses drop rare tamable Montabi.
3. Upgrade your starter's best card at the rest node.
4. Equip your best Charm. Team-wide stat boosters are best.
5. Save Supply items. Don't waste them on the node before the boss.

Sequence 4: Evolution Rush

1. Distribute XP evenly? No. Give 80% of XP to your starter Montabi.
2. Level 5 is the target. Once you hit it, evolve immediately.
3. After evolution, your starter gets a new deck of stronger cards. Adjust your playstyle.
4. If you get a second Montabi to level 5, you now have two evolved creatures. That's usually enough to finish a run.

Sequence 5: When Things Go Wrong (Recovery Play)

1. Your trainer is exposed. Play any movement card. Even if it's suboptimal, moving your trainer back is priority #1.
2. You lost a Montabi. The fight isn't over. Your trainer can still win with backup Montabi from the bench.
3. Your deck is too big. Look for a removal event or shop. Cut basic attack cards first.
4. You're low on HP. If a rest node is nearby, take it. If not, burn Supply healing items. Don't save them for a run that's about to end.

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Advanced Tips

AP carryover is your friend. If you have leftover AP this turn, it rolls into the next. Plan turns where you spend light to build a big AP pool for a massive combo next turn.

The Montabi encyclopedia tracks what you've caught. Completionists will need multiple runs to fill it. Each Montabi type is easier to tame once you've seen it in battle.

Your trainer is the weakest link. Almost every run-ending moment comes from the trainer dying. Prioritize trainer safety over everything — even dealing damage. A dead trainer means zero damage output.

Movement cards are the rarest and most valuable card type. When offered a choice between a strong attack and a movement card, take the movement card. You can always deal damage from a safe position. You cannot deal damage when you're dead.

Some enemies have row-clearing attacks. If you see an enemy winding up an attack that targets an entire row, spread your team across multiple rows before they fire.

The X Gang bosses have patterns. The first boss typically tests your AP management — it has a powerful attack that requires you to have movement AP ready to dodge. Study the telegraph and prepare.

Charms stack. If you find multiple Charms in a run, equip them all. Their effects are additive, not exclusive.

Don't hoard Stickards. Apply them immediately to your best cards. An unused Stickard is a wasted resource.

Team composition rule of thumb: Never have more than 2 Montabi of the same elemental type. Coverage beats stacking.

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FAQ / Common Mistakes

Q: I keep dying because I can't move my trainer. What am I doing wrong? A: You're not drafting enough movement cards. Every deck needs at least 3–4 movement cards across your team. Check your deck after the first battle — if you have fewer than 2 movement cards total, reroute to a shop and buy some.

Q: Should I always use my Montabi Biscuits immediately? A: No. Save them for meaningful additions to your team. A basic enemy Montabi at level 2 isn't worth a biscuit. Save for level 4+ enemies or rare types.

Q: How do I know which Stickard to equip? A: Match the Stickard to the card's purpose. Damage Stickards on attack cards. AP-reduction on expensive support cards. Utility Stickards (extra range, piercing) on movement cards.

Q: I evolved my Montabi but its deck feels worse. What happened? A: Evolution replaces some basic cards with advanced ones. Your deck is temporarily less consistent until you add a few more cards to fill the gaps. Visit a battle node to level it again quickly.

Q: Is there a way to reset my deck mid-run? A: No, but card removal events and shops are your reset. Prioritize them when your deck feels bloated.

Q: What makes Montabi different from Slay the Spire? A: The 3×3 grid adds a positioning layer that StS doesn't have. Movement, range, and lane strategy matter as much as card selection. Plus, the creature collection and evolution system adds a team-building meta-game between battles.

Q: Can I catch every Montabi in one run? A: No. The roguelike structure means each run gives you a subset of the full roster. Multiple runs are required to fill the encyclopedia. That's by design.

Q: What happens when I lose a run? A: You restart from the beginning, but you keep any permanent progression unlocks — new starter Montabi, global upgrades, and accumulated currency. Each run makes you a little stronger.

Q: Is the demo representative of the full game? A: The demo covers roughly the first act. The full game branches wider and goes deeper, with more Montabi, evolved forms, and boss encounters. The core systems are final.

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Montabi Cheat Sheet (Community-Confirmed)

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This guide was built from demo gameplay, official announcements, and community reports. Systems may vary slightly at full launch. Updated July 2026.